Winemaker Notes
Dark and brooding with creme de cassis, graphite, melted licorice and espresso crema. Black currant, incense, humidor and grilled meats add to the intrigue of flavors. Full bodied, dense and powerful, the fruit and oak spice play out on the long and toasty finish.
Blend: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Petit Verdot, 5% Tempranillo, 3% Tannat, 3% Cabernet Franc, 1% Graciano, 1% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A ripe, relaxed, full-flavored red that feels so comfortable in its skin. A warm, generous texture wraps around gorgeous red and black cherries, dark plums, dark chocolate and subtle baking spices. This emphasizes the generosity and ripeness of the 2022 vintage, making it easy to sip and enjoy.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Mother Of Exiles is another of the more opaque and intense offerings from Denner, leading with a smoldering, black and herbal bouquet with toasted undertones and loads of pencil lead and charred cedar accents. The palate is massively full-bodied and enveloping, transitioning into a drying finish defined by powdery acidity and chewy tannins. It's a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Petit Verdot, 5% Tempranillo, 3% each Tannat and Cabernet Franc and 1% each Graciano and Merlot.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Paso Robles has made a name for itself as a source of supple, powerful, fruit-driven Central Coast wines. But with eleven smaller sub-AVAs, there is actually quite a bit of diversity to be found in this inland portion of California’s Central Coast.
Just east over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the chilly Pacific Ocean, lie the coolest in the region: Adelaida, Templeton Gap and (Paso Robles) Willow Creek Districts, as well as York Mountain AVA and Santa Margarita Ranch. These all experience more ocean fog, wind and precipitation compared to the rest of the Paso sub-appellations. The San Miguel, (Paso Robles) Estrella, (Paso Robles) Geneso, (Paso Robles) Highlands, El Pomar and Creston Districts, along with San Juan Creek, are the hotter, more western appellations of the greater Paso Robles AVA.
This is mostly red wine country, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel standing out as the star performers. Other popular varieties include Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and Rhône blends, both red and white. There is a fairly uniform tendency here towards wines that are unapologetically bold and opulently fruit-driven, albeit with a surprising amount of acidity thanks to the region’s chilly nighttime temperatures.